Doc, chemist with H1N1 battle for life | Patel

PUNE/NEW DELHI: As swine flu cases across the country rose,an
ayurvedicdoctor and a chemist infected with the H1N1 virus were battling for their
lives on Friday in Pune, the city from which the first flu fatality was reported.
Both the doctor and the chemist are on the ventilator.
Across India, 96 new cases were confirmed taking the total number
of flu patients to 171. Alarmed by the spurt, the Union health ministry on Friday
decided to allow private hospitals and labs with bio-safety level-II to conduct
swab tests but only if these had isolation wards where positive cases could be
quarantined. These private facilities are also required to have a real-time PCR,
the gold-standard test to detect H1N1. Health authorities also directed fliers in
high-risk groups, such as senior citizens, pregnant women and heart patients, to
wear masks at all times during the journey.
On Friday, Mumbai also reported its first flu-positive case - a school student.
While school authorities denied the student had swine flu, health officials confirmed
the case. The school will be shut from Monday.
In Pune, the 36-year-old doctor, who had been suffering from an upper respiratory
tract infection (URTI) for a week, went to the Naidu government hospital to get his throat
swabs taken. According to the doctor's brother, authorities at Naidu hospital did not take
his throat swab following which he went to a private hospital. When he started complaining
of breathlessness on Wednesday, the hospital, suspecting it to be a case of swine flu, sent
his swab for testing to the NIV on Thursday. The report, which was received early on Friday,
showed that he was H1N1 positive.
The 35-year-old chemist from Hadapsar, who tested positive for the flu and was admitted
to the Sassoon hospital on Thursday night, was said to be showing signs of improvement. He was
brought to the hospital in a critical condition, medical superintendent Pandurang Pawar said.
A six-year-old girl, who also tested positive for swine flu at a private hospital, was shifted
to Sassoon hospital later in the evening. Her condition was stable, said Dr Pawar.
Ten people with whom the chemist came in contact over the past few days have been quarantined
and under observation. Most of them are the chemist's relatives. Eight of them have been quarantined
at home while two are at Sassoon hospital.
The hospital has just two ventilators and has requisitioned for six more. Dr Pawar said he
had enough Tamiflu tablets but has still asked for 5,000 more.